Peterson’s latest video
Free tuition isn’t the answer
Tough love on stage
The psychology behind emotions
Women’s team come out on top
News, page 2
Opinion, page 4
Arts, page 5
Features, page 8
Sports, page 11
U of T students rally for free education Students rallied toward Provincial Parliament Building demanding elimination of tuition fees MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR All three U of T campuses united for a rally in downtown Toronto last Wednesday on the National Day of Action, advocating for free university tuition. Chants at the rally varied between “Education is a right, we will not give up the fight,” “Tuition fees have got to go,” “Education is under attack, what do we do? Rise up like that,” and several others calling for eliminating tuition fees. “The last National Day of Action took place in 2012, meaning that the majority of students who were involved at the time have now graduated,” wrote Nour Alideeb, UTMSU’s president, in an email to The Medium. “We wanted to reaffirm the message that students still want a free and accessible post-secondary education.”
CHEN GONG/THE MEDIUM
Some chants were “Education is a right,” and “Tuition fees have got to go.” Students continued from Sydney Smith toward the Provincial Parliament Building located in Queen’s Park, where Ryerson and York University students also joined, as well as guest speakers who supported the students’ action. “Our students in Ontario pay
the highest tuition in the country. Shame,” said UTM biology professor Linda Kohn at the rally. “Last year, for the first time, tuition fees exceeded public operations for Ontario. […] Our universities are meant to be public and supported by public funding.” “The tuition fees of the university
of Toronto are unhinged, they’re out of control, they’re rapidly rising, and they are criminal,” said Ryan Culpepper, chair of CUPE3902 at the rally. Culpepper also questioned where the student fees are going. “They’re building five-milliondollar bamboo gardens in the school
of medicine. Is that where you want your tuition fees going to? […] We got more managers than workers at this university, and that’s a shame.” Yusra Khogali from the Black Liberation Collective stated, “U of T is not a place for Black students.” “Our education is not for sale. It is not profitable. It is not exploitable. Our education is our liberation. It is not a privilege; it is a right,” continued Khogali. The rally also featured Ahmad Gaieb, an executive vice president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Rajean Hoilett, a chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, organizers from the Black Liberation Collective, and other speakers who supported the cause. “I do believe that free tuition is an attainable goal,” stated Alideeb in an email to The Medium. “We see countries like Germany and France providing free post-secondary education, so why won’t Canada?”
Rally continued on page 2
Town hall with the Black Liberation Collective Following BLC’s call to boycott UTSU, the union agreed to hold a town hall with them DARA SALAMAH Following the Black Liberation Collective’s call to boycott UTSU for being “anti-black”, UTSU scheduled a “Town Hall to confront anti-Blackness within the UTSU” event with the BLC. According to UTSU’s president Jasmine Wong-Denike in an email to The Medium, the purpose of the meeting is to “address anti-blackness within the UTSU because of the concern that the UTSU is perpetuating anti-blackness in its operation, outreach, and services.” “We want to hear from our members ways in which we can be doing a better job to represent them, and to hold the UTSU accountable,” stated Wong-Denike. “Their response to one of our demands to hold this town hall meeting shows how anti-Black they are,” stated BLC to The Medium. “UTSU decided to post this event right before their annual
EDRIC BALA/THE MEDIUM
BLC believes that UTSU’s response to one of their demands shows how “anti-Black” they are. AGM with zero consultation from Black students in order to deflect any criticisms that do come up in the meeting about their anti-black
racism.” “Black students are not a priority to this executive team in any sense since they have taken office,” the
BLC also said, adding that Black students are being “tokenized once again with no meaningful inclusion or consultation to redeem
their public image.” “While a town hall was decided on, certain logistical details were confirmed shortly before the AGM, hence why the event was posted beforehand,” said Wong-Denike. UTSU has spoken with Black student groups before creating the event, according to Wong-Denike. She added that the town hall will be “part of a series of events to critically analyze the UTSU to make it more accessible, including looking at our annual general meetings and the accessibility of our elections.” Wong-Denike also stated that there will not be an agenda in the event. “There is no predetermined content beyond confronting anti-Black racism within the UTSU,” she said, “Because it’s a space for students to air their concerns and to have an honest discussion on how to move forward.” Town hall continued on page 3
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THE MEDIUM 11.07.2016
U of T students protested in T.O.
November 5th, 2.05 am Fire alarm/ CCT Garage At the P5 level of the garage, a fire alarm occurred when burnt marijuana smoke tripped a smoke detector. Mississauga Fire Department attended.
October 29th, 4:30 pm Mischief under $5000/ Parking lot 5 Campus Police investigated damage done to a vehicle. The vehicle was parked overnight in the lot.
These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list. Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.
Peterson addresses U of T
MARYAM RADWAN/THE MEDIUM
The rally featured speakers from UTM faculty, CFS, and the Black Liberation Collective.
Rally continued from cover
YOUTUBE.COM/PHOTO
Peterson writes a letter to U of T offering two options. MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR U of T psychology professor Jordan Peterson released a YouTube video on November 5, addressing U of T following its agreement to hold a debate forum with him. According to Peterson, the university sees that his refusal to recognize genderless pronouns is “in violation of university policy” and “contravenes Ontario the Human Rights Code.” Peterson also stated that the university said they are just as responsible for his speeches as he is. “The university is distancing itself from me, because they know that if I get called for my hate speech because of my refusal to use these pronouns, then the university is just as guilty as I am,” said Peterson. “So what they’re doing is setting up a series of legal documents that are designed to show that they acted in good faith trying to discipline a wayward employee who is contravening these policies.” In response to two letters sent to him by U of T’s dean of the faculty of Science, David Cameron, Peterson wrote a letter to U of T on November 2, saying that he cannot “abide” by the request of the forum that the university had agreed to hold with him. Peterson gave the university two options in rebuttal his letter. One is that the university continues to insist upon his silence, because it believes his actions are illegal. “It can then continue to take whatever actions it deems necessary to distance itself from me and my opinions,” he said. The second option that Peterson offered was that U of T goes back to the Statement on Freedom of Speech
of May 1992, which states that the “essential purpose of the university is to engage in the pursuit of truth, the advancement of learning and the dissemination of knowledge. To achieve this purpose, all members of the university must have as a prerequisite freedom of speech and expression […] The university must allow the fullest range of debate. It should not limit the debate by preordaining conclusions, or punishing or inhibiting the reasonable exercise of free speech.” “The university must decide. It can accept option one, which in my opinion, means sacrificing its commitment to free speech, […], or it can accept option two, ‘defending my right to criticize the society at large,’ by all legal means necessary,” said Peterson. Cameron wrote a letter back to Peterson saying that U of T is “quite prepared” to host a forum where arguments about the gender identity and Bill C-16 are presented, in addition to arguments about freedom of expression and how it should “properly relate to non-discrimination protections that exist in Canadian law.” Cameron’s letter added that U of T cannot host a forum that “will offer a platform for an expressed intention to engage in conduct with your students and colleagues, that you appear to have acknowledges, would be in violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.” Peterson stated toward the end of the video that he has decided to go forward with the debate forum because “a flawed debate is better than none.” The date of the forum remains unknown.
“It is possible, we just need to pressure our governments to invest in our post-secondary education,” she also said, adding that following years of pressure on the government, lowincome students will now receive grants that pay off their tuition. Also in an email to The Medium, UTSU’s president Jasmine WongDenike stated that the union’s current focus is on the “threat” of the expiration of tuition increase caps after 2016-2017 academic year. “UTSU have personally met with the office of the premier, as well as minister Deb Matthews and her office,” said Wong-Denike. “The CFS, in effect, is arguing for free tuition for higher-income students—and I’ve got to say, that’s not where my priority would be,” said Matthews in an interview with The Medium. “I’m really looking to increase the participation rate for those who are less likely to go on, so whether it’s Indigenous kids, students from lowerincome families, people who want to return to get an education maybe a little later in life, like I did. I really want to take down those financial barriers to support people to achieve
their potential,” Matthews added. Currently, Ontario’s tuition cannot be raised beyond three percent, according to Alideeb. She explained that Canada’s provincial government will be discussing the tuition cap framework. “After December, that cap can potentially be eliminated like it was in Nova Scotia,” she said. “Our friends in Nova Scotia saw increases of 30 percent after their tuition caps were eliminated.” “We want to ensure that our provincial government knows that students in Ontario are expecting free education, and nothing less than that.” While the administration has yet to respond to the rally, Alideeb says that the student union will continue to pressure the Campus and Governing Councils to freeze parking and tuition fees. Students were granted academic amnesty on the day of the rally, which meant that they could be excused from attending their classes without being penalized. AccessAbility was also present at the rally, as there were people translating the chants into signs. Buses were also provided by UTMSU and the Scarborough Campus Student Union from their respective
campuses to the place of the rally. According to Bilan Arte, CFS’ national chairperson, thousands of students took action at 58 campuses in 36 cities across every province last Wednesday. “We believe that education is a right,” said Arte. “After too many years of fighting against cuts, members of the Canadian Federation of Students are pursuing the only goal that will address the crisis in postsecondary education in Canada, free education.” Arte also stated that this Day of Action took place in communities as large as Toronto and Vancouver, and small communities like that of Church Point, Nova Scotia, and Gander, Newfoundland. “Statements of support were made in the chambers of four governments in this country,” she said. “Students’ work is having an impact. Together we will win.” Other events were hosted throughout the week as part of a Week of Action hosted by UTSU. One such event was a town hall meeting to discuss tuition fees, tuition caps, and the benefits of OSAP. Other events included a discussion on climate change, an art and painting distressing workshop, and a Social Justice and Equity commission.
BLC criticizes UTSU’s actions Town hall continued from cover In their statement to boycott the union back in October, BLC had also demanded UTSU to drop its lawsuit against UTSU’s former executive director, Sandra Hudson. As previously reported by The Medium, UTSU filed a lawsuit against former president Yolen Bollo-Kamara, former VP internal and services Cameron Wathey, and Hudson for $277,508.62 for “amounts improperly paid” to Hudson before her employment was terminated last year. “Till now, they’re still pursuing a racist lawsuit against a black woman [Hudson] who has dedicated over 10 years to the student movement and creating UTSU to be what it is,” BLC told The Medium. UTSU had released a statement on their Facebook page also in October,
stating that the management of the “ongoing litigation” is the responsibility of the executive committee, and the board of directors has the authority to “initiate and to settle litigation on the recommendation of the executive committee”, but not the role of managing the case.
The “AllLivesDONTMatter: Confronting AntiBlackness” event hosted by UTSU has been cancelled last Friday BLC stated that they have collected over 500 signatures, and have gained the support of over 50 student groups and community organizations since they launched the call
to boycott UTSU in October. Last Friday, an event hosted by UTSU called, “AllLivesDONTMatter: Confronting Anti-Blackness” was cancelled, and while BLC said the reason was that “the facilitator declined the event in solidarity with our UTSU boycott,” Wong-Denike stated that the event was cancelled because “the originally-scheduled speaker unfortunately chose not to attend the event”. The Facebook event description of the town hall mentions that the media “should not” attend. WongDenike told The Medium that media will be allowed access into the meeting if they request to attend in advance and “are respectful of the space.” The town hall event is expected to take place this Thursday.
11.07.2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS
OSAP to become more accessible
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»THOUGHTS ON FREE EDUCATION?
Mohammed Amin Finance
Lena Arbaji Environmental sci & Bio
It’s one of the most valuable investments any government can make.
I think we can work to reduce it, but we can’t eliminate it.
Farheen Kadwa Biology
Shyam Jajal Economics & poli-sci
Free education shouldn’t even be fought for; it should just be given.
If the government invests in students now, the return of it will be much higher.
THESTAR.COM/PHOTO
Minister Deb Matthews says changes in OSAP will become effective in 2017.
FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Deputy Premier, chair of the cabinet, the minister responsible for Digital Government, and the minister of advanced education and skills development Deb Matthews, stated to The Medium that there are upcoming changes to OSAP. Matthews referred to the changes as being more “accessible” to students, while making OSAP “more progressive, more generous and simpler.” According to Ontario website, changes in received amounts were made upon comparing the students’ tuition fees and their living expenses with the amount that they and their families are expecting to pay. Beginning in the 2017 academic year, students can receive up to $13,260 if they are full-time single students. Students who are married or solesupport parents can receive up to $22,440. “It means that students with a fam-
ily income of $160,000 or less will get some support from OSAP,” said Matthews. “It’s progressive so that when you hit the $50,000 mark, you’ll actually get grants that are higher than your tuition. So it’ll be free tuition for students from families with an income of $50,000 or less.” Matthews stated that upcoming changes will also make OSAP accessible, by making the grants more “upfront.” Students will be able to know before starting their OSAP application what their financial aid is going to be, how much in grants they will be receiving, and how much in loans they will have to repay. Matthews also explained that the government is planning on brining a “digital government,” in which students can access OSAP on their smartphones and tablets. “The upcoming OSAP changes are intended to increase post-secondary participation rates for students from lower income families,” she said. Students from lower-income families, according to Matthews, are
one-quarter less likely to continue to post-secondary institutions, unlike students from higher-income families. ”We’re really hoping that by taking these financial barriers down, students are going to be able to go on to college or university based on their potential—not on the size of their pocketbook,” said Matthews. Matthews and her team are currently developing a strategy to ensure that every student who graduates from high school, and from college or university, has at least “one meaningful experiential learning opportunity.” As announced by the website of the Government of Canada, beginning November 1, students will no longer have to repay their loans until they start earning at least $25,000. It also stated that as of August, Canada Student Grant amounts have increased by 50 percent. The OSAP changes are expected to become effective in September 2017.
GCSC returns in 2017
Ombudsman reviews seven U of T cases WARD SUROUR
An annual report released by Ontario ombudsman, Paul Dubé, last Wednesday highlighted changes in the jurisdiction of the ombudsman which became effective in September 2015. The ombudsman is an officer of the Provincial Legislature who is independent of political and government parties. According to the Ombudsman Act, the ombudsman considers the application of the principles of academic freedom when considering a complaint about a university. Since January 2016, the ombudsman has reviewed 95 university cases, seven of which have been from the University of Toronto. “This meant the number of organizations we oversee doubled in the past year—from 500-plus to more than 1,000—presenting both an enormous opportunity and an enormous challenge,” stated Dubé in the report. Dubé also described this mandate
expansion to be “historic,” and says that the office is “apprehensive” of the new challenges that this expansion will bring. In order to handle the expanded mandate, the Ombudsman Office has increased interaction with universities. “Our Office conducted extensive outreach with university stakeholders, including the Council of Ontario Universities, student and faculty associations, and university ombudsman offices to explain how we work and to gather information about how each university resolves issues internally,” read the report. “This included conducting a survey of universities across the province and hosting a one-day symposium for university ombudsmen and complaints staff in November 2015.” Other responsibilities that the ombudsman handles include ensuring equality in all procedures with rational outcomes for students and staff members at university. According to the report, the ombudsman will take complaints, create
informal inquiries to carry out formal assessments, then draw a conclusion and recommend a change to the university procedure. However, the ombudsman and their office cannot overrule a decision, nor deal with any issues regarding student unions or governments. The Ombudsman Office also works with resolving issues for members working or representing the university, if they raise concern over a wrongdoing of the university. In regards to financial aid issues that are not resolved in the university’s financial aid office, one should first communicate with the Student Financial Assistance Branch at the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities. Through email, web request for an assistance form, or by phone, a scheduled meeting is set up via phone or in person. The Ombudsman Office has been providing impartial assistance to the three University of Toronto campuses since 1975.
ANUM SYED/THE MEDIUM
The final round of GCSC will be at Google’s headquarters. DEVANSHI ADHVARYU The Great Canadian Sales Competition will hold its third annual competition in 2017 in over 80 campuses in Canada. U of T’s GCSC ambassador, Mohammad Amin, fourth-year UTM finance student, pointed out the many companies that sponsor GCSC, such as IBM, Air Canada, CDW, and Dell, among many others. GCSC encourages students to develop their skills and networks professionally within the sponsoring companies. “This is a great initiative that aims to promote the importance of building sales skills for students—from boosting your confidence, to understanding how to dress, there is tons of value in understanding sales as a skill,” states the GCSC website. Around 200 applicants have applied so far, according to Amin. The GCSC is expecting a total of 3,000 applications this year.
In the first round, applicants film a 30 to 90-second sales pitch about something that they are passionate about. The applicants will be judged on specific criteria, and top finalists will be chosen by January 8, 2017. The finalists will then move to the semi-finals, which will be held on January 31. The contestants will have a chance to meet with one of the GCSC sponsors and create a sales pitch for that sponsor. According to the GCSC website, there are rewards for the final contestants. All contestants who reach the final round will attend the Winner’s Gala, where the contestants can meet and network with the GCSC sponsors. The first-place contestant will be awarded a cash prize of $7,500, while each runner up will receive $1,000. According to Amin, the competition’s final round will be held at Google’s Headquarters in March 2017.
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11.07.2016
MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Maria Cruz editor@themedium.ca
What it really means to fight the fees Why fighting tuition fees is actually more of a problem than it is a solution
Managing Editor Mahmoud Sarouji managing@themedium.ca News Menna Elnaka news@themedium.ca A&E Hailey Mason arts@themedium.ca Features Farah Qaiser features@themedium.ca Sports Eric Hewitson sports@themedium.ca — Photo Olivia Adamczyk photos@themedium.ca Design Sarah Yassine design@themedium.ca Copy Farah Khan copy@themedium.ca Online Meg Sharpley online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Alicia Boatto A&E Adelaide Attard Features Mahnoor Ayub Jessica Cabral Sports TBD Photo TBD Copy TBD GENERAL STAFF News Assistant Kassandra Hangdaan news.assistant@themedium.ca Webmaster Luke Sawczak web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Alison Ross distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca Cartoonist Anthony Labonté BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edric Michael Bala, Mike Dopsa, Maleeha Iqbal, Arika Macaalay, Rafay Mirza, Christine Capewell, Maria Cruz, Maria Iqbal COPYRIGHTS All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, and cannot be used without written consent. DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Medium. Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium. All articles published in print are also posted on our website themedium.ca LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style and coherence. Letters will not exceed 700 words in print. Letters that incite hatred or violence and letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist, or libelous will not be published. Anonymous letters will not be published. MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 themedium.ca
To contribute, email editor@themedium.ca
Ah yes, the “Fight the Fees” campaign is back. The All Out event this week was meant to tackle what we all complain about the most: tuition. Tuition is interesting because it’s such a difficult topic to discuss without understanding the problems that are often associated with it. Tuition sucks. However, I believe that when we’re fighting the fees, we aren’t being specific in terms of what exactly we’re trying to fight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m never happy when I know that I need to drop $7,000 for university. I’m always questioning why my sociology courses are $600 each. On top of that, I’m required to purchase expensive textbooks. But I know I can’t complain because friends of mine in de-regulated programs are paying roughly between $13,000-$15,000 per year. And international students are paying upwards of $40,000-$60,000 a year. So my measly $7,000 is nothing compared to that. Do I believe that tuition should be lowered a bit? Of course. However, should university be free? Nope, and here’s why. When we say we have to fight tuition, what part of tuition are we fighting? My problem right now is that when we claim to “Fight the Fees,” there’s a discourse that tuition is just one payment that only goes towards our classes. Have we all actually looked at our invoices to understand that tuition isn’t just for classes? Are we fighting what we pay for classes? Or what we’re paying for the services that are provided to us? The bulk of our tuition goes towards the price of classes, which is anything from $600 and more. Add that up and we’re paying quite a lot for these classes. I do understand that there is an opportunity to optout of the Drug Insurance Plan and the Dental Plan. However, that really saves me nothing in the grand scheme of things. First things first, the RAWC or in other words, the swimming pool, the gymnasiums, the treadmills, the dumbbells, the weight-lifting areas, and the various classes that are held, are all things we pay for in our tuition. We also pay fees toward Hart House, which hosts student productions, a gym, the Arbour Room, a concert hall, and study areas. Health and Counselling—that’s definitely important for students who live on residence and may not have access to a doctor outside of campus. Many of us have access to healthcare options that help with anything from mental to physical health concerns. We pay fees towards student services. Things like the Career Center, AccessAbility, first-year transition programs, Diversity and Equity programs, International Student Resources,
Leadership Programs, Multi-Faith programs that provide spaces for various religions, Quality Service to Students, which is a council that aims to improve the student experience at UTM, Student Affairs Administration, and study spaces throughout campus. I know for sure that many of us use these services in some capacity. We fund UTMAC as well, which provides opportunities for students to be involved in athletics. Your student newspaper, The Medium, which provides students with the opportunity to participate in real-world journalism. The beloved U-Pass (that we all so greatly appreciate), unless we live outside of Mississauga. We fund UTMSU and UTSU. The Drug Insurance Plan and the Dental Plan—useful for students who may not be under any insurance plans at home. We pay The Varsity, another journalism outlet for students. And last, both student-run radios are funded by us as well. Okay so, now that I’ve bored you with the list of ancillary things that we pay for, let’s try to understand what potentially could happen if tuition was free. I’ll preface this by saying that I understand that this encompasses only a portion of our tuition, however, it’s still a crucial part. The provincial government starts to fund universities across Ontario and what happens then? I believe that in some way, we lose most of (if not all of) these services. Or at the very least, the level of service we are provided with will now deplete due to a lack of funding. Things like the RAWC, our Student Services, UTMSU and UTSU, The Medium, and The Varsity can only survive if funded by the students who use these services. My point is, if we’re going to campaign to fight the fees, then I need to be informed exactly what part of my fees we’re trying to eliminate. If we eliminate all of them, we could seriously be causing more harm than we think. Yes, the provincial government has cut their funding towards universities which resulted in an increase in our tuition, but why do we think universities increased it? Well, so that we don’t lose what UTM has already built. I realize this does get more complicated, and that what I mentioned is only a third of what we pay for. Nonetheless, we pay for it, and it’s a part of the tuition that we’re all fighting against. University is a bubble. We’re all enclosed within it and have so much opportunity here to learn, to grow, to become a better person, and to have a good time. I think what’s happening right now is that we’re becoming too comfortable in this bubble. We forget that once we’re out of university, these services that
we pay for are difficult to find. I don’t know about you, but I think the fact that we’re even offered all these opportunities is amazing. We’re completely taking it for granted and essentially implying that we’re entitled to these services, so it should just be given to us for free. How often is it that you’re going to find a service in the workplace that is solely designed to help their employees that may have any health problems, especially mental health, which is only now being realized as a legitimate problem that students are facing? What we’re given here is not going to be as easily offered to us outside of this bubble that we’ve become so complacent in. Tuition is not the only reason there are massive amounts of students with student debt. Just like anything else in this world, we forget that any problem we face is the cause of many factors. What are we all told when we reach the end of high school and are about to graduate? Whether it be by our parents, our friends, our teachers, or our mentors: “You need to get a university degree, otherwise you’ll never be successful.” If we’re all being fed this lie, then it isn’t a surprise that there’s a giant influx of enrolment in universities. We’re always being told our lives depend on the degrees we’re getting, even though it’s been proven that university degrees are not the only way to be successful in life. We all still go because we know that if we don’t, we disappoint someone. Education is definitely a right. We all have the right to learn and to enhance our knowledge. However, what we’re implying in the context of university is that university is the only source to gain that knowledge. We’re still feeding into the stigma that university is the only way you’re going to get a job in life, otherwise you’ll never succeed. You can learn and succeed in life without stepping foot into a post-secondary institution. We need to realize that when we graduate from university, we’re leaving the bubble that we’ve become so accustomed to. And once we’re out, almost all of us realize that the fields we studied so hard to get into aren’t taking us in immediately. It takes quite some time for us to get into the field of the degree we pursued. So how can we claim that education is a right solely for the purpose of gaining a job? Education shouldn’t be a right so that we can work, education should be a right for the sole purpose of wanting to learn, to enhance our knowledge so that we can do good things in our life. University shouldn’t be underlined as the only means in which learning takes place. Education isn’t limited to a classroom. Education should be a path we embark on for
the sake of learning, not for the sake of getting a job. In the “free tuition” argument, there is this constant desire to compare North America to various European countries who have adopted the free tuition model. However, what’s missing in this comparison? Well, first of all, the fact that Europe operates on a different economic system than North America. So maybe they’re able to offer free tuition to students because their economic system allows them to. Our country currently has more people than there are jobs, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that undergraduate students graduating with a bachelor’s degree aren’t immediately being offered top-notch jobs. It’s unfair to sit here and constantly bring up countries like Germany, Denmark, and Finland without understanding why they adopted the free tuition model. It takes more than protesting students; it comes down to the way in which their economic system works, how it contrasts to ours, and if the means to offer free tuition are there. What I’m trying to get at by writing this is that there is so much that’s being ignored. If we’re going to “Fight the Fees,” tell me what part of tuition we’re actually trying to fight? The classes or the services that we forget we pay for as well? If we’re going to “Fight the Fees,” then I think there should be an explanation of all the factors that lead to debt after graduating. Tuition should not be blamed as the sole problem. If universities were free, then we would lose a lot. Just look around you. How else do you think we can have topnotch technology, the best research labs, our food court in Davis, the gym, and so much more? Fighting the fees because you feel that your education should just be given to you is not a valid reason to eliminate tuition. You seriously want to eliminate tuition? Then understand the consequences we will face, the resources we will lose, and the opportunities we will miss out on if we keep fighting the fees.
Mahmoud Sarouji Managing Editor
CORRECTION NOTICE The Oct. 31 article “NASA thinktanks: what’s next for Harary?” stated Harary went to the University of New York. He actually attended the State University of New York at Buffalo. The article “Are race and policing GTA issues?” was written by Haider Syed.
11.07.2016
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What are you willing to sacrifice? The Caucasian Chalk Circle explores issues of love, family, maternity, and violence FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR On the surface, The Caucasian Chalk Circle seems to be nothing more than a traditional comedy, where two lovers are separated by external forces, and are eventually reunited. But Bertolt Brecht’s script is more than that—it is marked with extensive turmoil, injustice, and violence. It discusses family, class, and justice in a time of civil war. No character is what they seem on the surface. What may seem as self-serving is later revealed to be a by-product of the unjust political system, while good selfless deeds are also extremely foolish actions. Directed by ted witzel, what makes The Caucasian Chalk Circle different is its satirical take on the plot. The play begins with a look at the Governor Georgi Abashwili’s (Spencer Bennet) lavish lifestyle. Accompanied by his wife (Victoria Dennis), security, and his newborn child Michael, it is immediately clear that the Governor is not a kind leader, nor is he a man of the people. This is made obvious when the Governor’s wife expresses her joy at the construction of a new garden, at the expense of clearing out a shanty part of the town.
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
Theatre Erindale wrapped up its first play of the 2016/2017 season over the weekend. We are also introduced to the two lovers: Gruscha, a lowly maid working in the kitchens (Alma Sarai) and the soldier Simon (Brett Houghton). The audience is treated to several minutes of painfully embarrassing flirting as Simon attempts to tell, using repeated clichés, that he has watched Gruscha as she undresses by the stream while she does her laundry. Simon is besotted with Gruscha, but the feeling doesn’t seem to be mutual.
As the Governor’s security forcibly separates the commoners apart from members of nobility, the Fat Prince (John Wamsley) strolls in, munching on a packet of Cheetos, and cryptically comments on the ongoing war with Iran. The Prince even offers a Kinder egg to the newborn child—which is dismissed by the Governor’s wife, to the audience’s laughter, as a “choking hazard.” It doesn’t take the sharpest mind to
realise that the Fat Prince has ill intentions towards the Governor and his family. In fact, almost immediately, the Fat Prince orchestrates a coup and has the Governor executed. Throughout the play, commentary is provided by the Singer (Bryn Kennedy). She is not a static narrator, but instead moves around the set, holding symbolic items (such as set of scales) and occasionally interacting with characters. The play is also studded
with appearances from Ethel (Katie McDonald) and Eugene (Gabe Golin), an elderly couple who provide comedic relief through their constant arguments. Eugene constantly references his impending death (“I don’t even buy green bananas!”) and is not scared of a fight (“Try me, bitch” is his response to a particularly violent soldier). Following the Governor’s death, the palace is in disarray. Despite the fear and urgency in the scene, our two lovers meet once more. Following another painful round of flirting, Simon drops to one knee and successfully proposes to Gruscha. Despite Gruscha’s insistence, Simon then leaves to do his duty as a soldier, making another set of vague statements and promises to meet with Gruscha at her brother’s farm. In the palace, the Governor’s wife is a mess. However, it’s not concern for her husband that is troubling her, but what clothing she needs to survive. The scene is brought to a standstill as the characters slowly realise that the town is on fire. The Governor’s wife then flees the scene without her baby Michael. Maternity continued on page 6
Classic comedy takes a new direction Hart House’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing provides laughter and social commentary HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR The 1940s were a period of great social change, particularly for women. When the men left their homes, families, and jobs to fight in WWII, the women were left to pick up the pieces. Women went to work in positions of manual labour—jobs their gender had once forbidden. The 1940s offered women a newfound autonomy, granting them opportunities that were no longer exclusive to men. From a feminist perspective, there’s no better time to frame a classic script than the 1940s. Carly Chamberlain embarked on this task while directing a contemporary rendition of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. In a script laden with misogyny, Chamberlain reads between the lines and finds room to address female agency in a male-dominated world. Much Ado About Nothing premiered at Hart House Theatre last Friday evening. After learning about Chamberlain’s progressive ideas for this script, I was anticipating a strong production. I’ll confess, I had no idea just how good it would be. Everything about this production was im-
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Much Ado About Nothing achieved a successful premiere at Hart House Theatre last Friday. maculate: the direction, acting, choreography, set, costumes, and props were carefully selected and rehearsed. One of the most memorable aspects of Chamberlain’s direction is her seamless integration of female autonomy into the script. She casts women in male roles, including Lesley Robertson as the raucous con-
stable Dogberry. She also “gender bends” the villainous Don John, casting Laura Meadows into the role of Donna John. Throughout the play, Chamberlain writes actions into the script that demonstrate individual will and stubbornness towards male opposition. The introduction of female autonomy levels the playing
field, so to speak, as men and women appear as equal opponents in this classic “battle of the sexes.” The story begins with the men returning from war. As they proudly enter the stage in their army uniforms, they interrupt the women’s laborious household chores. Leonato (Mike Vitorovich), a respectable
nobleman, invites the men to stay in his home while they recuperate from battle. As the men and women mingle, we’re introduced to the headstrong Beatrice (Shalyn McFaul), the niece of Leonato, and the witty Bennedick (Christopher Darroch). The pair immediately engage in banter. Both characters are sharp-witted and abhor the constructs of love and marriage. They bicker about the other’s wit, intelligence, and likeability. Above all, they vow never to commit themselves to another person. Despite their mockery, or perhaps owing to it, the remaining characters secretly plot to make Beatrice and Bennedick fall in love with each other. Opposite this duo is Claudio (Alan Shonfield), a young, bashful soldier who’s instantly drawn to Leonato’s daughter, Hero (Tatiana Deans). He falls in love with her and sets off to earn her hand in marriage. However, Donna John has other plans for the couple. Out of bitterness and hostility, she conjures a scheme to soil Hero’s reputation and create dissonance between the pair. Much Ado continued on page 7
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Let’s do the time warp Tough love UC Follies gives shadowcast production of cult classic
Maternity continued from page 5
ADELAIDE ATTARD ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Sparkly corsets, gold booty shorts, and high heels are all things any good rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show should have. Last Wednesday, I attended a Rocky Horror shadowcast at Hart House. Hosted by UC Follies, a St. Georgebased student theatre troupe, the performance adhered to everything a traditional Rocky Horror shadowcast should include: commentary, props, and a whole lot of skin. Directed by Jocelyn Kraynyk and Mike Dineen, the shadowcast was a fun twist on a classic performance. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a shadowcast is a performance that involves live actors mimicking the motions of a film while it plays behind them. Although props were both scarce and meager, UC Follies made great use of what was available to them. Two days after Halloween, UC Follies premiered the first of two shadowcast performances at Hart House. Last Wednesday was cold and rainy, mirroring the scene in Rocky Horror where Janet Weiss and Brad Majors find themselves knocking on a castle door in the middle of nowhere. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic directed by Jim Sharman. It stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. After its release in 1975, this glam rock parody of the classic haunted house genre was received as a risqué, overly sexual film. Rocky Horror toys with gender, sexuality, and plot. For instance, Dr. Frank N’ Furter (Tim Curry) is a transgender doctor who creates the perfect “boy toy” in his lab, who he names Rocky. The cast acted out each scene of the movie from beginning to end while the film played on a projector in the background. The cast made great
use of their space in Hart House, especially its historic tower. When Janet (Lorraina Roth) and Brad (Alex Pompilii) first approach the mansion, they see Riff Raff (Crissy Voinov) peering through the small window of the Great Hall’s tower. As the show progressed, people began yelling slurs at the screen. In traditional performances of Rocky Horror, it’s normal for the audience to shout at the actors and even throw rotten fruit at them. This explains why people were yelling “slut” whenever Janet spoke, or “asshole” at Brad. UC Follies also sold prop bags. All proceeds from the bags went to Covenant House. Although I wasn’t planning to open mine until the show started, I ended up cracking into it early. The show was meant to start at 9, but we weren’t even seated until 9:30. I had to distract myself during the wait somehow. My bag contained a newspaper, toast, a party hat, toilet paper, and rubber gloves. An odd assortment, right? However, each prop served a purpose. For example, when Frank N’ Furter snaps his rubber gloves, the audience must snap the rubber gloves provided in the bag. One thing that made this performance so fun was how the UC Follies crew encouraged audience integration. When “Time Warp” came on, MCs Rebecca Chess and Mike Dineen told the audience to stand up and join the actors in “jumping to the left and stepping to the right.” Everyone stood up and danced. Despite the rocky start, including a long delay and never-ending technical difficulties, the audience’s energy picked up. One of my favourite features in this performance was the actor behind our transgender ringleader, Manoosh Tavakoli. Tavakoli was the perfect fit for the evil scientist from “Transsexual Transylvania.” Tava-
koli’s costume fit like a glove (no pun intended), and resembled Curry’s outfit perfectly. In the last scene, Tavakoli rocked the timeless red sparkly corset. Moreover, Tavakoli’s thick black hair looked just like Frank N’ Furter’s classic locks. He was undeniably the star of the show. Rocky (Nicholas Higgins) was another strong feature of the play. It was obvious that Higgins comes from a dance background. Dressed in skin tight, golden booty shorts, Higgins pirouetted across the stage. In one instance, Higgins slipped on water previously thrown into the audience by Tavakoli. Higgins expertly played it off, making the fall look natural. My favourite moment of the play was the final scene, where Frank N’ Furter floats in a pool. Although the props were minimal, the Transylvanians (Breanna Pratley, Kate Differ, Rachel Bannerman, Natalie Mansilla and Ivana Vidakovic) waved blue sheets close to the ground to replicate water. Tavakoli, mouthing the words and swooning, stood amidst these ethereal blue sheets as “Don’t Dream It Be It” played overhead. Sadly, one of the negatives of the evening fell to the technical difficulties, which didn’t stop throughout the performance. The movie kept pausing to buffer. However, the actors paused along with the movie, no matter how hard or long the position. The cast’s adaptability demonstrated how well-rehearsed the performance was. UC Follies’ depiction of Rocky Horror was well-rehearsed and enthusiastic. I don’t think the actors could have been more energetic. There was even an open bar and snacks during intermission. The location was great, the vibe was spooky, and the costumes were colourful. However, the underlying technical difficulties definitely put a damper on the evening.
At this point, all the servants abandon the palace—excluding Gruscha, who cannot ignore her maternal instincts. Her fear for Michael’s survival overpowers her and she resigns herself to the role of being his “temporary” mother. This marks the beginning of Gruscha’s journey. On the surface, this is what the play is about: Gruscha becoming a mother. We watch her as she slowly treks along the road to her brother’s farm and attempts to take care of the newborn child, despite the apparent danger of raising a child who is on the Fat Prince’s hit-list. However, it is slightly disturbing to watch Gruscha sacrifice everything for Michael. She repeatedly puts the baby first, a sentiment best portrayed by her entering a loveless marriage. witzel summarises this best in his program guide, by stating, “Today, reading Gruscha as a sucker has become even more difficult as the cult of motherhood in western capitalism has grown—we laud and applaud the sight of a woman putting herself in danger to save a helpless child […]. I think Brecht is asking us to question the logic of that supposed moral imperative.” The same biological imperative is raised and questioned in the closing scenes of the play, where Gruscha is forced to state why she should receive custody of the baby, and not the Governor’s wife, who is the true biological mother. In the end, Azdak, the cynical judge (Jack Comerford), places the child in the centre of a chalk circle, and states that the mother who can pull the child out of the circle first will win custody. Hence the title. (Spoiler alert: Gruscha cannot bear to hurt her child and fails the test; but in doing so, she wins custody of Michael.) On a different note, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Brecht’s script is littered with instances of violence,
rape culture, and sexual assault. For example, at one point Gruscha was overpowered by a soldier, and likely would have been raped if it weren’t for her quick actions. During her loveless marriage, Gruscha’s husband is angered by her refusal to not engage in sexual intercourse and states that “a woman is for weeding the fields and spreading her legs.” These violent actions are inflicted on various female characters. A particularly compelling example occurs in the play’s second act, which revolved around Azdak. The cynical judge is a misogynist, takes bribes in court, and repeatedly flaunts two hookers on his lap (Emily Thorne and Lauren Wolanski). At one point in court, Azdak asks the victim Ludowika (Sarah Hime) to bend over and pick up a drink from the ground. Azdak notices her voluptuous figure and immediately rules in favour of the male defendant, stating that she must have led him on with her body to commit assault. But this is where the play pauses, and Hime drops the role of her character to give a soliloquy commenting on the rampant misogyny and rape culture present in Brecht’s script. Hime ended her speech with an eloquent “fuck Brecht.” I could go on for another thousand words about the play’s many strengths (such as the use of a revolving stage to indicate time, the carefully presented backstory for Azdak and the many vivid, supporting characters) and humorous one-liners, but sadly, this is not the space for that. Overall, while The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a slightly cringeworthy romance, it delivered brilliantly in terms of satire, moral commentary and comedy. In fact, the play focused less on the love between Gruscha and Simon, and instead explored, very intensely, a cast of flawed characters and their actions within a tyrannical land. The Caucasian Chalk Circle ran until last Sunday, November 6.
Critiquing capitalism the right way Blackwood Gallery’s current exhibition uses different modes of art to comment on capitalism HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR Imagine capitalism stripped of its secrecy. Imagine capitalism as a series of unfiltered, visual representations that illustrate contexts often shielded from the public. Blackwood Gallery offers such a presentation in its newest exhibition, I stood before the source. After its opening on October 19, I stood before the source has swept across UTM, extending to the e|gallery and the Bernie Miller Lightbox. The exhibition incorporates pieces from 16 different artists, each working towards a visual representation of economy and capitalist culture. Christine Shaw, the director of Blackwood Gallery, and Greig de Peuter, an associate professor at Wilfred Laurier University, collaborated under the name Letters and Handshakes to produce this collection. Shaw and
Peuter worked with local and international artists to create a codependent selection of art. The pieces in this collection communicate with each other, as one provides meaning and context to another. The various prints, sculptures, videos, and photographs involved in this exhibition function almost as a discourse, as they portray capitalism through many different perspectives. These pieces prompt us to consider the hidden, yet prevalent, aspects of our economy that often go unrecognized, such as factory labour and unethical trading. “We didn’t want to make an exhibition that was only about statistics and information, which is more common for an exhibition about the economy,” Shaw explains. “We wanted to produce a combination of aesthetic, sensory, physical, and emotional experiences for this display.” The floor and walls of Blackwood
contain a rich diversity of artistic mediums, each appealing to a different experience. Abbas Akhavan’s “Trope” is a life-sized, bandaged rhinoceros head that sits on the floor of the gallery. This sculpture depicts the state of the rhinoceros once poachers have removed its horn. Akhavan’s piece represents both the destructive and reparative qualities of humans—while humans have brutally removed the horn to sell in the ivory trade, they have also dressed the wound with the intention of healing and easing the rhinoceros’ pain. On the opposite wall hangs Jeremy Hutchison’s “Fabrications”. Hutchison’s display contains a collection of different pieces that explore the history of Palestine, particularly areas of colonization and labour. “Fabrications” includes five pairs of distorted jeans, five photographs, and a video clip. During the production of this
collection, Hutchison collaborated with Al-Aqqad & Partner Fashions, a denim manufacturing company in Nablus. Hutchison worked closely with the employees of this factory, who manufactured a series of distorted jeans that symbolize the cyclical, laborious task of working in a Palestinian factory. These jeans, five of which are on display at Blackwood, connect where the ankle holes should be, creating a single loop. The video depicts the employees of Al-Aqqad & Partner Fashions producing these jeans. “When we encountered Jeremy Hutchison’s work, it immediately spoke to us,” Shaw notes. “‘Fabrications’ is so extensive in terms of how it speaks about manufacturing, production, resources, and nation states. It’s so complicated. Hutchison’s piece alone could function in its own exhibition.”
Like Akhavan and Hutchison, each artist creates a commentary on the global economic state. As the artists are both local and international, they provide a worldly perspective on the prominent issue of capitalism. Alison Cooley, the curatorial assistant at Blackwood Gallery, comments on the effect of I stood before the source: “One of the brilliant things about this exhibition is that different people with different experiences with capitalism and labour will latch on to different art. That’s the hope of the exhibition—that everybody will be drawn to different pieces in a unique way. There’s something for everybody to connect to in this exhibition.” I stood before the source is on display at Blackwood Gallery, UTM’s e|gallery, and the Bernie Miller Lightbox until December 3.
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Punctuating social issues with comedy Much Ado continued from page 5
Donna John is arguably the most autonomous female role in this production. Her actions arise from independent desires, separate from any man. She even employs men to assist her in the task of ruining Hero and Claudio, demonstrating an authority that no other woman expresses in the script. While Don John is traditionally a male role, Chamberlain’s alteration of the character is a beneficial decision. Through Donna John, we see the potential of female villainy in a male-oriented script. The question of female independence is ultimately a key feature in this production. Should the fiercelyindependent Beatrice resign herself to marriage, a union she condemns from the start of the play? Or will her stubbornness towards this social standard prevail? The play’s setting functioned as an important tool for plot and character development. The stage held three moving walls, each containing three large doorways. The size of the doorways depended on their proximity to the front of the stage, with the largest doorways in the front and
KEENA AL-WAHAIDI STAFF WRITER Long, unfamiliar articles are natural in most reading-intensive university classes. But when the topic of interest involves the renowned Actors Studio, the reading suddenly feels less mandatory. Studies in Twentieth Century Performance Styles provided me the opportunity to brush up on my theatre knowledge this year. Maurice Zolotow, an American show business biographer, gave this course the boost it needed with his 1957 article in The Saturday Evening Post, “The Stars Rise Here.” In his article, Zolotow explains how the Actors Studio not only transformed the lives of amateur actors, but also engulfed the very essence of their roles. The Method, the controversial technique conjured from Konstantin Stanislavski’s “system,” was under high scrutiny in the early 20th century. Training under The Method allows actors to dig into their subconscious thoughts in order to activate deep feelings. This process allows actors to cultivate the essence of their emotional experiences. The belief was that delving into certain triggers and forcefully bringing back these reactions had an impactful response on American theatre. “The Stars Rise Here” touches upon the foundations of theatre
the smallest in the back. These versatile pieces added depth to the stage, particularly when they shifted into a position where the doorways lined up, mimicking a shrinking hallway. The set pieces also contributed context to the script. For instance, an important component of the script is eavesdropping. The walls allowed characters to sneak across the stage unnoticed as they listened in to conversations. In one scene, Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro (Chanakya Mukherjee) speak about Beatrice’s hidden love for Bennedick (a fake conversation they intend Bennedick to hear). In the background, Bennedick hides behind the stage pieces. He skulks between walls, trying to get closer to the group to hear their conversation. This is a moment of comedic relief. Darroch’s exaggerated and intrigued actions encouraged laughter from the audience. As the trio invents stories about Beatrice’s “love,” Bennedick pokes his head out from behind the walls and jumps up in disbelief, prompting more laughter. The social commentary in this production is punctuated by the script’s comedy. Darroch gave a hilarious performance as Bennedick.
training. Since the Actors Studio efficiently normalized The Method and its principles, its teachings have become a blessing to young actors and playwrights. According to Zolotow, any drama student or theatre fanatic could tell you the gist of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Lee Strasberg, AKA “the father of Method acting,” required members to meet twice a week. The Actors Studio didn’t charge actors who worked under the Studio, however no one was allowed to participate in the Studio’s exercises until they acquired a full membership. Zolotow inspects Marilyn Monroe, explaining that Monroe grew tired of playing seductive, lustful characters. Wanting to change her audience’s mentality, Monroe sought help from The Actors Studio. After the Studio made her a star, critics raved about her performances in films such as Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl. Like Monroe, many other amateur actors at the time—Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and James Dean—would emerge swiftly out of the Actors Studio. This convinced civilians of the Studio’s popularity. To acting students, actors, and those interested in theatre, the Studio is where the real magic happened.
Yet, the greatest comedic relief came from Robertson, whose performance spurred cheers and applause from the audience on multiple occasions. Robertson slipped into the role of Dogberry with ease. Her deliberately embellished actions and elevated tone of voice contributed humour and personality to her char-
Should the fiercely independent Beatrice resign herself to marraige, a union she condemns from the start of the play? acter. The cast of Much Ado About Nothing transcended the script in a way I’ve never seen in a Shakespearean production. Their approach to the dialogue added greater meaning to the words and extended Shakespeare’s original context to suit a contemporary audience. The cast of this production went the extra mile, allowing their actions to parallel, and even surpass, the significance of the words. In one scene, Donna
John enters the stage through a door and sits on the steps. Muffled jazz music plays in the background, suggesting that Donna John has escaped the party indoors to sit alone in the night. She pulls out a cigarette and lights up, staring across the stage and smoking thoughtfully. After a few minutes pass, Conrade (Erik Helle) emerges from the door and lights his own cigarette. Although the scene technically begins when the two characters speak to each other, the dialogue-free introduction sets the mood. We’re let into Donna John’s internal state without hearing her speak a word. The closing scene is another notable moment of significance. Throughout the play, Hero lacks a voice. She allows men to govern her fate and she behaves passively as scandal unfolds around her. Chamberlain sought to address this issue in her direction. She explains, “I’ve been trying to find ways to cast women in roles that are traditionally male, and put women in positions in which they’re not just reacting. I’m also trying to find ways to grapple with Hero’s story that doesn’t necessarily change the original story, but does give her a slightly different path
in order to give her agency. Or if not give her agency, at least highlight the fact that she doesn’t have agency in this story.” Perhaps knowing Chamberlain’s intentions allowed me to find so much meaning in the final scene. As the characters exit the stage, Hero and Claudio linger. Hero begins to leave. Before she exits, she turns back to look at Claudio. They watch each other. Hero nods and holds out her hand to Claudio, offering forgiveness for his misguided anger earlier in the script. The pair then exit together. Although Hero doesn’t have a voice throughout the play, Chamberlain gives her one in this moment. For the first time, Hero acts independently and makes her own decision, accepting Claudio on her own terms. The chosen era of this production was certainly a strong fit for the play’s content. The 1940s suited the script in a way that felt natural. Chamberlain worked with contemporary issues in a time that’s familiar, but still distant enough for the audience to react objectively. Much Ado About Nothing runs until November 19 at Hart House Theatre.
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Is there more to compassion and awe? Professor Jennifer Stellar studies whether the experience of feeling awe can foster health benefits JESSICA CABRAL ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR How are positive emotions correlated to health? Do complex emotions, such as compassion, gratitude, and awe elicit beneficial physiological changes within individuals? Can experiencing awe through art serve a greater purpose than just being a “luxury”? These are just some of the questions Jennifer Stellar, a new assistant professor in UTM’s psychology department, hopes to discover through her research on “the positive side” of psychology. Stellar’s journey to academia was not always focused on her current field of study. She began her undergraduate career intending to declare herself an anthropology major, with psychology as her minor. Stellar credits her undergraduate advisor, Paul Rozin, for encouraging her to pursue psychology and eventually apply to graduate school. “I think I watched too many Indiana Jones movies and read too much National Geographic, so I went to undergrad as an anthropology major. I ended up really liking the psychology courses and began tak-
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Jennifer Stellar joined UTM’s department of psychology this September 2016. ing more and more of them,” Stellar explains. “I think Paul saw that I really loved the research process and I also clearly loved studying humans, that’s why I was originally interested in anthropology. But then I realized psychology offered me some methods that spoke to me about how we can quantify these very complicated
human interactions and behaviours.” As an undergraduate, Stellar’s experience with research ultimately pushed her to continue and pursue grad school. “I found I really enjoyed research. It was always interesting to me that I could get paid to come up with ideas
that I thought were interesting and test them. How is it possible that I can get paid to do that?” Stellar says. “I’ve just been very lucky to continue to do the thing I love, which is research.” Following in the footsteps of her father’s career as a professor, Stellar joined the UTM faculty as an assis-
tant professor in the department of psychology in September 2016. Stellar explains that she has always been interested in the “positive side of psychology.” Much of her work revolves around researching positive emotions like empathy, compassion, and awe. She then looks at how people demonstrate signs of altruism. In the field of psychology, Stellar notes that there is less research regarding complex emotions, such as compassion, awe, and gratitude, in comparison to the research on basic emotions, like fear, sadness, anger, joy, and amusement. “The complex emotions are inherently very social emotions, which is also why I was interested in them. They’re emotions that we feel almost exclusively in the context of others. They seemed to be the emotions that bind us to other people, hold individuals in committed relationships, romantic relationships, and hold friends together,” Stellar says. “I wanted those emotions to receive the same amount of research that fear and anger receive.” Awe continued on page 10
How should you navigate through loans? U of T alumnus Nazareth shares debt management advice, especially what to do about student loans FATIMA ALVI Loanerr, a debt management company, was recently founded by U of T Alumnus Scott Nazareth, who graduated in 2015 with an Honors Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and a history of religions minor. His company’s primary focus is helping students gain financial literacy on and off campus. Not only has Loanerr experienced success since its start-up, but in 2015 and in 2016, Nazareth was listed as the top 50 mortgage brokers under the age of 35. Today, we are in a loan ecosystem that is primarily made up of big banks, credit unions, financial institutions, and insurance companies. However, there are independent contractors, such as mortgage brokers. This leaves the middle: where the consumer stands. The consumer has the choice of either going directly to a bank or contacting an insurance company instead, generally under pressing situations. This is where Loanerr plays its part. Loanerr shifts the power of choice to the consumer through pure transparency of all the available
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Scott Nazareth recently founded Loanerr, a debt management company. options through the company and the broker channel. This allows the consumer to make comparisons and selections, rather than have a broker make a few suggestions that may comprise of only a few products out of the hundreds. Nazareth’s entrepreneurship journey began through his work experiences during his time at university.
He started working in a company that specialized in marketing and sales, which gave him a kick-start in understanding financial advice, the sales process, and educating consumers, while also familiarizing himself on debt insurance and home insurance. After about two years, while still a student at U of T, Nazareth was pro-
moted to a specialist position, and after three months, got promoted to a quality assurance position. In this position, he dealt with companies such as American Express and Canada Life. Nazareth was then promoted to team captain and campaign coordinator. “I then realized that such struc-
ture wasn’t for me, where I couldn’t implement new initiatives without going through channels and bureaucracy to finally get things approved. I thought it would be a better fit for me to get into a consulting role. I got my real estate license in 2014, and I started learning the ins and outs of mortgage financing, personal financial statements,” says Nazareth. “I started learning how different Canadians over a wide age demographic manage finances over time and take on new debt, as well as carrying debt over five, 10, 15, 20 years.” Nazareth adds, “I started noticing that for new home buyers, their student debt just remained on their balance sheets with just minimum monthly payments. It is a big factor in applying for a home. When you have a big amount of student debt on your balance sheet, you may be forced to buy a condo. With a condo, you might think that you are saving because you’re purchasing something with a lower price in property, but when you end up having to pay monthly fees, you are actually paying more on a monthly basis.” Loanerr continued on page 10
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Clinton vs. Trump: the final round HILLARY R. CLINTON pressed forward to move on from the two-year investigation, this controversy is what essentially spurred investigations into her handling of classified material.
MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR This past October marked the beginning of the most turbulent episode of Hilary Clinton’s election campaign so far. With newspapers reporting updates on the FBI investigation and her opposition reiterating her association with scandals in the past, such as that surrounding the Benghazi report, the Clinton campaign hasn’t been far from controversial. As the Democrat campaign faces some last-minute controversy, here is an overview of what has been scrutinized so far. THE EMAILS Clinton’s private email account became a subject of international news when approximately a year ago, a New York Times report, followed by an Associated Press report, revealed the existence of this basement server. The campaign has been flooded with lawsuits filed under the Freedom of Information act. There have been investigations initiated by congressional committees and inspector generals’ offices in the U.S. State Department and the U.S. intelligence community. After determining that the server contained classified material, the case was referred to the FBI in July for what has been termed “counter-intelligence purposes.” FBI personnel deployed to undertake this investigation have been trying to determine whether any criminal activity was carried out in the handling of this classified material and whether the server was hacked. The resulting scandal now revolves around the preservation of government records, official government communication, and the vulnerability of Clinton’s email server. Clinton’s use of her private email on her private
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Hillary Clinton has faced various controversies during her current presidential campaign. Blackberry for government communication had been cited as a potential security compromise by the State Department security officials. However, Clinton continued to carry it with her to most international trips, including China, the Middle East, and Europe. The number of emails moving through the basement server was an average of 296 a week, where about half of them have been reported to be work-related. Most of the emails have been characterized as routine, including those sent to friends. But this section of emails has been a subject of controversy, revolving around mixing government and family business, where they involved the coordination of efforts to bring aid to Haiti by the U.S. State Department and Bill Clinton’s New York-based Clinton Foundation.
BENGHAZI SCANDAL The emails scandal was exaggerated in light of what has been called one of the longest and costliest investigations in U.S. history, by the publication of the House Benghazi report. Although the report did not dispute a central finding of previous inquiries—that the U.S. military forces stationed in Europe could not have reached Benghazi in time to rescue the personnel who died—it did issue criticism of the overall delay in response on part of the government. Among the committee’s chief findings was the reception of conflicting orders to the Marines stationed in Spain and the fact that no U.S. military forces were deployed to Benghazi on the night of attacks, despite authorization from President Obama. According to the New York Times, Susan
E. Rice, then the United States ambassador to the United Nations, was also reported to have made numerous false statements about the Benghazi attack on television. The Senior State Department officials, including Clinton’s chief of staff Cheryl D. Mills, exerted excess influence over the Accountability Review Board that conducted the departments own inquiry, casting a shadow over the legitimacy of its independence and findings. The Obama administration was also criticized for obstructing the committee’s investigation by the delay or refusal of requests for documents and testimony. However, The House Select Committee on Benghazi was unable to highlight any distinct finding of professional misconduct or dereliction of duty. Although the Clinton campaign
WIKILEAKS Another facet to the controversy surrounding the campaign has been through the documents broadcasted by WikiLeaks. An example includes the paid speeches that Clinton delivered to elite financial firms, but refused to disclose to the public, where she praised a budget balancing plan that would have required cuts to Social Security. These speeches, along with Clinton’s statement of the necessity of having “both a public and a private position,” have been viewed as contrary to her public position, where she claims to be critical of large financial institutions. Although the Clinton campaign has not confirmed the authenticity of the documents, the release by WikiLeaks has been stated to come from the email account of John D. Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman. Approximately two weeks ago, FBI director James Comey reported the existence of approximately 650,000 emails as “pertinent” to the investigation, which were found on a laptop seized during an unrelated investigation of Anthony Weiner, a former New York congressman. There are few details available right now—it is not certain whether these emails are new or simply duplicates of emails that have previously been found in prior investigations. Many, including senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice, have expressed concern that Comey’s recent actions are an attempt to interfere with the upcoming election, which is just days away.
DONALD J. TRUMP FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Donald J. Trump is no stranger to the media. In the past, he enjoyed the spotlight as the host of The Apprentice, cameos in various movies (including the 2001 Zoolander and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York), hosting WWE’s Wrestlemania events, and as the owner (or partial owner) of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. In June 2015, Trump announced his bid to run for president as a Republican. Since then, his campaign has been marked with controversies and allegations as he attempted to woo voters. In fact, much of the controversy stems from Trump’s own statements, which have repeatedly been deemed false by various factchecking organizations. THE WALL On June 16, 2015, Trump stated the now-infamous quote that “when Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And
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Donald J. Trump announced his bid to run for president in June 2015. some, I assume, are good people.” This quote was one of his earlier inflammatory comments that set the tone for his campaign on immigration policies. Trump proposed the building of a wall along the U.S.Mexican border, which would supposedly be paid for by Mexico, to keep out illegal immigrants. Trump
has also proposed mass deportation for the 11 million immigrants who are currently living illegally in the U.S., the majority of whom are from Mexico. Putting aside the xenophobia associated with this form of border control, there are several problems associated with his proposal. It is unclear
how exactly Trump would force the Mexicans to pay for the wall, though Trump has offered various suggestions. In a two-page memo to the Washington Post, Trump suggested that a one-time payment of $5-10 billion to the U.S. would be “an easy decision for Mexico.” In his presidency, Trump could pass legislation that
would result in illegal immigrants being unable to send wire transfers outside of the U.S. This would be a move that would hurt Mexico significantly, because as per the memo, they receive approximately $24 billion a year from Mexican nationals. Despite Trump’s repeated assurances, current and former Mexican leaders are not in agreement with his grandiose proposal. In fact, last August, when Trump met the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, Nieto made it clear in the beginning of their conversation that “Mexico will not pay for the wall.” While Trump’s estimates for the costs of such a wall vary wildly (from $4-12 billion), according to a report from Berstein Research, such a wall would cost at least $15 billion, and could go up to a maximum of $25 billion. Another core feature of Trump’s immigration policy is his call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” which in effect, is proposing a ban of an entire religion from the U.S.
Trump continued on page 10
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THE MEDIUM 11.07.2016
Are personalized ads taking over?
Focusing on awe Awe continued from page 8
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
The number of personalized advertisements on social media sites are increasing. AISHA MALIK While browsing Facebook or Google, you may have noticed the abundance of personalized advertisements. Sometimes, these ads can get quite specific based on your interests. You could be shopping online for shoes, and then for the remainder of the week, you’ll see countless ads for shoes popping up on your Facebook feed. But how do these ads work—and how do they get so specific? Facebook has previously explained how they offer such targeted ads. Facebook uses all sorts of methods to decide which ads to show to specific people. The ads you see are based on your age, gender, location, and pages that you’ve liked. Data is also obtained based on the device you’re using to access the site. Facebook also has access to what you search offline. They have access to your search history, and the pages that you visit outside of Facebook, which is how the advertisements be-
come so personal. According to Microsoft’s privacy page, the company is able to collect data on their users by using cookies. The website also states that they receive information through third parties. But they state that they do not use what users say in chats, video calls, or voice mails to gather data for personalized ads. To get more information on the matter, I contacted CCIT professor Alessandro Delfanti. Delfanti explained that these online media companies offer free services, and can record data about our behaviour. He explained that through the data collected, they are able to create a surveillance system that records what each user does. This includes reading your emails. By doing so, the system “calculates” which ads should be targeted to which user. The ads are also able to target the user geographically. This type of system proves to be an efficient marketing tactic. Delfanti stated that this system “intersects with state control, as govern-
ment agencies can and do work with digital media and mobile phone providers to obtain data that can be used for social and political control.” I asked UTM students what they thought about personalized ads, and if they were bothered by them. Mariam Said, a fourth-year English student stated that she found the personalized ads to be “creepy” and “somewhat annoying.” Farah Gabriel, a fourth-year political science student, stated that she also found them “creepy” in a sense. She described an instance in which she searched for flights online, and then returned to Facebook and saw ads for flights. These media platforms are aware that not all users are comfortable with personalized ads. If users are uncomfortable with them or have privacy concerns, in most cases, such as on Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, they can opt out of seeing them. In cases where an opt-out feature isn’t present, there is no way out: personalized ads are here to stay.
Currently, Stellar is putting her questions and research into action through a collaborative study with the Royal Ontario Museum, which her team began a few weeks ago. For the study, groups of participants will either visit an exhibit at the ROM or go to a controlled lab space at the University of Toronto St. George campus. Stellar’s primary focus is on the emotion of awe, and she explains that the major ways individuals report feeling this emotion is through viewing art, listening to music, and being in nature. With the ROM, Stellar hopes to determine whether the experience of feeling awe can foster health benefits. “What this study offers me is a real-world way to induce awe. I can do it in the lab, but I really like the idea of having people feel the emotion in the environment, that feels more real to me. It’s giving me the chance to look at how feeling awe can lead to better physiological outcomes,” Stellar says. The participants are required to wear watches that will measure their heart rates, complete self-reports, and provide saliva samples so that markers, such as cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines, can be tested for possible reductions in negative health indicators. “It would be nice to document the benefits and show that these institutions of art and music have a place in our society, and that they’re helping people not just be happy, but also healthy,” Stellar adds. In future experiments, Stellar would like to use a sample of participants with health issues, such as the
elderly, to see if the effects of feeling awe are even more profound with them. Currently, the participants are students from Rotman School of Management: average, well-adjusted, healthy individuals. However, Stellar’s research doesn’t stop there. She also runs projects on studying compassion and morality. Through her work with compassion, she tries to understand why donations for international causes are so low, and why mass suffering actually produces lower emotional responses. With morality, she hopes to discover how people respond when their friends or romantic partners commit an unethical act, and how the psychological processes work there— which is something the world of psychology knows very little about. What does Stellar hope to discover by the end of her current Toronto art study? Ultimately, she hopes to find that awe does offer health benefits, and that the experiment can give rise to a larger discussion about whether art and nature can be used as interventions to help individuals defend against some of their negative health outcomes. “For many of us, we see these trips to museums or hikes as luxuries. I’m really busy, so it’s the first thing I stop doing whenever I’m out of time. But, I think that might not be the best way to look at things,” she says. “I think that in reality, those things serve an important purpose that we haven’t documented yet.” “I would like to shift the dialogue into that realm; where people are more comfortable with recognizing that these aren’t just luxuries, but they’re actually important for our health and well-being.”
Trump has faced constant controversy Finding loans Trump continued from page 9
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS Two days before the second presidential debate, the Washington Post released a video from 2005, depicting a lewd conversation between Trump and Billy Bush (a correspondent on Access Hollywood). In the video, Trump discusses an attempt to seduce Nancy O’Dell (who was Bush’s co-host at the time) and then stated, “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” While Bush was suspended and later resigned from his position as a co-host of the Today show, Trump is still running in the presidential election. Trump has repeatedly tried to dismiss the conversation as mere “locker room” banter that occurred 10 years ago, and attempted to deflect attention from his controversy by saying his remarks were nothing compared to the Clintons’ treatment of women. “Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his
victims,” said Trump. Following the release of the recording, at least 17 women have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment. Trump has referred to these allegations as a smear campaign, and has even suggested that the women accusing him of sexual assault are not attractive enough to be assaulted. When referring to Jessica Leeds, Trump stated, “Believe me, she would not be my first choice. That I can tell you. You don’t know. That would not be my first choice.” Many individuals viewed this leaked Access Hollywood tape as an example of “rape culture” in action. It prompted the rise of the hashtag #PussyGrabsBack as a means of mobilizing women to vote against Trump. In fact, following the leaked tape, Nate Silver, the editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, shared a projection which indicated that if all women refused to vote for Trump, Democrats would receive all 538 electoral college votes. HATEFUL LANGUAGE Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has insulted numerous individuals, ethnicities, and religions. The New York Times published a list of people, places, and things that Trump has insulted on Twitter, and
found that there was a total of 281 total targets. This list was limited to Trump’s tweets published during the current presidential election and excluded all insults that had been stated during rallies, speeches, and debates. While it is almost impossible to recap every insult or controversial comment that has been tweeted or said during Trump’s presidential campaign, there are several that caused widespread public outrage. Last November, Trump mocked Serge Kovaleski’s disability, who was a reporter with arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting the joints. Trump later insisted that he was trying to imitate grovelling, and did not know that Kovaleski was disabled. Trump has also spent several weeks, both on Twitter and in various interviews, attacking the parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in combat, even stating that the mother did not speak at the Democratic National Convention because her faith would not let her do so. During the Republican primary, Trump alleged that Ted Cruz’s father was in the presence of John F. Kennedy’s assassin, just before the assassination, thus implying that Cruz’s father was involved in the plot. At the third presidential debate, despite an earlier affirmation that he
has the greatest respect for women, Trump referred to Clinton as “a nasty woman.” He also referred to Latino immigrants as “bad hombres.”
UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY Over the past few months, Trump has repeatedly voiced concerns about the election being “rigged.” This prompted Chris Wallace, the moderator in the third presidential debate, to ask whether Trump would accept the election results—and in case of a loss, would he concede to Hillary Clinton? While Clinton affirmed her commitment to the long-held principle of a peaceful transition of power, Trump initiated yet another controversy by stating, “I will tell you at the time. I will keep you in suspense.” At a later rally, Trump stated that he would “totally accept” the results of this election—but only if he wins. While this may seem to be nothing more than a flippant remark, there are fears that Trump’s refusal to accept the election results could potentially cause extensive post-election turmoil. President Barack Obama said that Trump’s statement “undermines [the U.S.] democracy,” and that “democracy depends on people knowing their vote matters.”
Loanerr continued from page 8 Nazareth wanted to find a permanent solution, which led him to create Loanerr in February 2016. Nazareth suggests starting with developing a budget, to aggressively factor in an amount of disposable income after writing out the bare necessities’ costs. He suggests putting this money directly towards debt, or to put it into an interest-bearing account where you can then make lump-sum payments every year. Nazareth also suggests that individuals make it a weekly routine to check bank account details by downloading the app for their financial institution, so that they check how much debt they have. Budgeting software, such as Mint, are also helpful resources. In terms of car loans, if people have the money to pay 50 to 60 percent upfront, shopping around for the best rates and ensuring that they understand any existing penalties will aid in making the right financial choices while buying a car. Currently, Nazareth is a mortgage agent at Dominion Lending Centres. Loanerr is a fairly recent start-up and can be found at 1444 Dupont Street in Toronto.
11.07.2016
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The formidable UTM women’s team UTM D-league women’s basketball goes 3-0, looking to avenge last year’s finals loss to UTSG ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The UTM women’s D-league basketball team wins yet again on Sunday, November 6, staying undefeated with a record of 3-0 in their 2016 campaign. The UTM squad defeated UTSC in the RAWC 55-36 in a hardfought battle all the way until the final whistle. Head coach Salee Johnson-Edwards was proud of her team’s effort this afternoon, but still expects them to play at an even higher level if they want to avenge their championship loss from last season. “It was a good team effort. There are some key points we want to work on, but with wins like this, everyone gets involved and everyone gets to play, so that’s pretty good,” says Edwards. Going forward with still two-thirds of the season left, the women have a lot of time to work on their weaknesses that were present at the end of the game. “We have to have more discipline on the defensive side by not reaching in, because if we keep doing that it’ll come back and haunt us.
ERIC HEWITSON/THE MEDIUM
The UTM women’s D-league basketball team continues their winning streak. I think overall we’ve done a good job on team concepts. It’s just some individuals that need to work on things, which will end up putting the pieces together,” says Edwards. Chemistry and experience are the biggest benefits the team has, which sets them apart from the rest of the
competition. “A majority of our team has returned from last year, and many of them have played for me the past three years. They know the system, and they know what’s expected of them,” says Edwards. Last year UTM ended up in first place during the regular season
games, even making their way to the finals. But in the finals, the women suffered a heartbreaking loss to UTSG by a score of 55-50. However, the women are better this year than they were last year. They’re looking to change the script and make themselves into a championship team in-
stead of a finals team. “I think they’re hungry, and they’ve been playing with a chip on their shoulder. They’ve been playing expecting to get back to the finals, and there are many players who know they can’t end off the season this year the way we finished it off last year,” says Edwards. In other sports or teams around the league, the expectations for a Dleague team may not be the same as the expectations for a varsity team, but for Edwards and assistant coach Shannon Patterson, these women are treated with the same respect and temperament that the varsity team receives. “I think for us it’s basically changing the culture of the program and turning their mindsets from Dleague athletes to varsity athletes. I want to give them that experience of feeling like a varsity player, so a lot of the things that we do will mimic what we’d want from them next year,” says Edwards. The women look to dominate in the offensive zone once again in a couple of weeks when they face the St. George team on Sunday, November 20 at the RAWC.
Varsity Blues just can’t catch a break The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team is 0-7-2 this season, losing six of those nine by one goal ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The Varsity Blues had a rough weekend on the ice, falling 2-1 to the Brock Badgers on Friday, November 4 and 6-4 to the Ryerson Rams on Saturday, November 5. It has been a devastating year for the Blues so far, who haven’t managed a single win in nine attempts going 0-7-2 in the OUA’s West Division. Though, to their credit, the Blues have lost six of the nine games they’ve played by just a single goal. Getting over that hump is something that head coach Darren Lowe wants to work on going forward. The Blues allowed the first goal of the game when in the first period. Brock’s Josh Timpano tipped in a long shot past Blues goaltender Andrew Hunt. Moments later, the Badgers added another goal, thanks to Matt McLeod. Third-year Blues forward, Matt Campagna, found a breakaway opportunity right out of the penalty box, but couldn’t put the puck past Badgers goalie Clint Windsor. The impressive goalie stopped 38-of-39 shots on net, proving to be the biggest factor in the team’s success that
SEYRAN MAMMDOV/PHOTO
The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team has yet to win a game this season. evening. First-year Connor Bebb ended Windsor’s shutout chance at 11:58 in the third period, making it an exciting ending. The Blues spent a lot of time in the penalty box on Friday night, serving a total of 22 minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct.
They proved strong on the penalty kill, but more focus needs to be placed on bettering their discipline. The Blues fared well against the No. 8-nationally-ranked Ryerson Rams on Saturday at Mattamy Athletic Centre for the first 30 minutes of the game, keeping the close score of 1-1. However, in the final 10 min-
utes of the second period, the Rams scored three goals in less than six minutes to take a 4-1 lead headed into the final period. It was exciting to see Toronto compete so vigorously against the second-best team in the West Division. Toronto only lost to York—the best in the division—by a score of
1-0 three weeks ago. Third-year defenseman, Matt Heffernan, gave his Blues squad some hope notching his first career goal. Moments later, team captain Charlie Connel brought Toronto within one goal at the 8:31 mark of the third period. Again, the Blues found themselves in a one-goal predicament, creating an exciting final minute. The Blues weren’t the comeback kings Saturday night, as they let in an empty-netter with 28 seconds left. Rams goalie Taylor Dupuis played exceptionally well down the stretch, enabling Toronto to come back. The Varsity Blues take a week off from game play and are set to return to the action next Saturday, November 12 as they host the Nipissing Lakers at Varsity Arena. Nipissing has struggled in their Eastern Division, going 2-6-1 with a goal differential of -20—even worse than the Blues, who are at -16. It’s important that the Blues pull together a streak of wins soon, because if not, it’ll be a lonely time at the bottom of the league playing until halfway through February.
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«SPORTS
THE MEDIUM 11.07.2016
Making improvements After an exceptional 2015 season, Eagles struggle early on
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
UTM’s women’s D-league volleyball team began their season with a loss to UTSC.
ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The UTM women’s D-league volleyball began their season on a sour note, losing all three of their matches. On Sunday, November 6, the women lost to UTSC 2-0. In the first set, UTSC took care of UTM in quick fashion, winning 25-11. The following games saw a better play by UTM losing 2519 and 25-13, but it wasn’t enough to compete into extra frames. The most important thing in any season for a team is that the team improves their skill, discipline, and effort, no matter where they are in the standings. For head coach Patrick Persaud, he is happy with how his team has fared these past few weeks, even though they haven’t dominated
the same way that they have in previous years. “I feel that in every game and set we’re improving. That’s all I can ask for from my athletes,” says Persaud. Persaud is a former player for the men’s UTM volleyball team, and knows full well what it takes to be a winning athlete. Persaud also knows that the coach can’t control everything that happens; the team needs to come together as a collective and create a strategy to be successful. “I know the girls have their expectations, but as a coach, my expectations are for them to get better after every touch of the ball and after every set,” says Persaud. The women’s D-league team is a fundamentals league that prepares athletes for a chance at playing for
the Varsity Blues squad in Toronto. The women’s varsity team is one of the best in the country, so preparing these women here at UTM at a high level is necessary if they want to compete among the best. A significant benefit the D-league gets from having the varsity team do so well with talent is that the players that don’t make the CIS team will end up playing in the development league, hoping for another shot the next year. “I think because of the level that the varsity team is at, you get a lot of the people that don’t make it trickle down, so we do have a very competitive D-league for women,” says Persaud. The UTM women will look to get themselves a win when they host UTSG in the RAWC on Sunday, November 20 at 1 p.m.